


Martian Waters

by Jonn_Wolfe



Series: Rose River Alternate Universe [6]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-04 00:18:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2901728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jonn_Wolfe/pseuds/Jonn_Wolfe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Retelling of "The Waters of Mars".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Martian Waters

## *Chapter 1*: Prologue: A Breakthrough

* * *

In the relative quiet of the vortex the TARDIS spun about rather lazily, quietly drinking in energy. While it wasn't near as fast as absorbing rift energy, the background radiation was being funneled into the converted scoop for later use as fuel. Normally, it would take the ship at least four months to top off in the ambient energies of the vortex. However, with two students of time and space - _as well as two more than capable teachers_ \- the ship was nearly full in less than half that.

These nearly two months spent 'lollygagging', as the Doctor put it, was put to good use for Jenny's education and recuperation. Copious amounts of protein shakes as well as four square meals a day had her nearly in top form.

The Doctor noted that she was a 'most stubborn person', _which was pointed out that it came honestly... much to his chagrin_ , and minus one incident with a torn bicep, she was almost back to her normal physical routine. She wasn't one hundred percent just yet, but she was a damned sight better than the skin and bones she was when she first came on board.

Interestingly enough, she began teaching her mother some combat routines. This evolved when the Doctor found out about it. He and his brother morphed this physical education with Venusian Aikido. Jenny was quick to pick that up, but Rose had some problems. Instead, she focused on the simple by comparison Messaline combat techniques with only a smattering of Venusian moves.

Since sleep wasn't that much of a presence anymore due to their Gallifreyan physiology, down time consisted of doing whatever came to mind. John painted almost constantly; Rose spent the time reviewing information that was brainbuffed with the Doctor; and Jenny mostly spent the time either meditating or going through different lessons that the TARDIS gave her. She was relentless in discovering everything there was to her heritage.

This 'night', if you could call it such on a timeless ship, Jenny got an almost irresistible urge. With a brief conference with the ship, she had a room done up with multiple marker boards and a computer that responded to both voice as well as input from the whiteboards. She couldn't put her finger on exactly how or why she got preoccupied with multidimensional math, but something her mother said a while back got the smatterings of an idea started. It festered for a while before she had to get it down.

The Doctor and Rose were 'busy' with tea and a cuddle in the sitting room. Well, maybe a bit _more_ than a cuddle, but they were interrupted by their daughter speaking up in their minds. _'Dad, do you have a minute?'_ Looking at each other, her parents shrugged. _"Sure dear, what can I help you with?"_ the Doctor asked. There was a pause, which they took to get themselves somewhat squared away in sitting up and minding their clothes. _"Jenny? What is it?"_ he prompted.

_'I think... no. Can you check my arithmetic? I don't want to get any hopes up just yet.'_

_"Where are you?"_

_'Had the ship set up a room for me. TARDIS? Would you mind either leading Dad here, or putting the rooms close together, please?'_

_Of course dear,_ they heard the ship say. A rumble and a shudder later, and the room Jenny was in became situated across the hall from the sitting room. Rose took the Doctor's offered hand, and they walked over.

When they came in, Rose saw all the equations on the whiteboards and whistled. "Good _Lord_ , Jenny. What have you been up to?"

Jenny turned around. Her light blue button up shirt had the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. Dry erase markers of various colours were smudged here and there on her skin and shirt, mostly on her fingers, but also in spots on her face where she had various itches. Rose smirked, stifling a chuckle, and grabbed a damp washcloth that appeared on the table next to the door. "Oh, swee'hear'," she clucked with a smile.

"What?" Jenny asked right before she was beset with an impromptu cleaning of her face. "Oh... that. Yeah." She frowned as Rose wiped her face. "I can do that myself, you know," she protested.

"Nah," Rose said while shaking her head. "I like doing it. Besides, I got robbed of doing this for you when you were small because you were _never_ small. So let me indulge myself, yeah?" Jenny pursed her lips in annoyance, but let her continue with a heaving sigh. She fought the grin that was threatening her when she saw the look Rose was giving her, though. They ended up laughing at her predicament.

While Rose had Jenny distracted, The Doctor wandered around the room with wide eyes. He recognized these equations, as he did something similar when he and Rose were separated by the void. Remarkably similar, in fact. These were the same damned equations that he went round and round with all through the time that both Martha and Donna were traveling with him. However, when he got to the whiteboard on the far side of the room, he simply stared at it completely gobsmacked. "You... You _cracked_ it?" He turned around to look at his daughter in awe. "How?"

Rose looked over at him, confused, but Jenny was smiling wide. "It lines up? I didn't botch it?" she asked with bright eyes.

The Doctor turned back around and went over it again. As he was rechecking it, Rose slid her hand into his and he unconsciously clutched at it tightly. "What is it?" she asked. "What'd she solve?"

There was about a minute of silence as the Doctor went over the whole board, looking for errors. Jenny came up on his opposite side and clutched his other hand. He had a beaming smile on his face when he couldn't find anything wrong. He let go of Rose's hand and wrapped his daughter up in a hug. "You're Brilliant!" he squeaked, "simply brilliant!"

Throughout the TARDIS, the Doctor's thoughts could be heard shouting, _"My Daughter is a Bloody Genius!"_ This nearly caused John to streak his current painting with a line of red paint. He looked up and frowned, then set his paints down to go find out what all the hubbub was about.

Rose tried to understand what was going on, but math still was one of her problems despite brainbuffing. She really didn't like dealing with figures. However, the images of seeing herself fall; being caught by Pete; and several images of the Doctor going over various equations in a room similar to this one; all of which coming from her husband with a hell of a lot of joy and pride, she began to catch on. Wide eyed, she pulled the two of them apart, so she could take a hold of Jenny's shoulders and look her in the eyes. "Tell me this is void math," she demanded with a quiet voice.

Jenny's smile mirrored her fathers when she nodded. "I did it," she said simply and just as quietly. Rose squealed and hugged Jenny tightly.

* * *

The Tyler mansion was quiet this Saturday morning. Pete had one hell of a week dealing with the latest alien fiasco, this one being more of a diplomatic exchange of knowledge than an invasion.

Honestly, he would have preferred the invasion. Quartering the details of protocol, politics, and such made him positively insane. He took this weekend morning's reprieve to heart and flat out demanded to not be roused till noon.

Jackie spent that morning browsing the internet on her I-padd, and enjoyed her husband's sleepy cuddles with her back. She'd had breakfast already, and simply relished what time she had with Pete... awake or not.

Tony was in the middle of showing his sister how to conquer Tiamat's castle with his gamestation in the main living room, when the game paused by itself. The more than annoying beeping ring of a call caused him to sigh heavily. "Sorry, Laura," he said to the small pink and ginger bundle of a three year old in his lap. Setting his controller down, he spoke up to the screen. "Answer."

The smiling, blond haired face in the screen caused his eyes to bulge out almost comically. "Rose?"

"Hey Tigger!" Rose said. "I don't have a lot of time here, can you set the main computer up to receive a databurst?" The boy nodded and slapped his fingers across the keyboard that was sitting next to him. "Who's that?" she asked.

"Laura," he said in a whisper. "My... _Our_... baby sister. Computer set to receive."

Rose's mouth dropped open. "I have a baby sister?" Someone from off camera muttered, " _Hit send, dear_." She shook her head and looked down. "Right... Transmitting." The picture froze as the data came across the same transmission.

While the data was coming through, any communication between them was completely disrupted. Tony finally came to himself and started shouting at the top of his lungs. "MUM! Mum! Come Quick!"

Jackie bolted out of the bed, only slightly disturbing Pete's deep snoring, and came down the stairs in just her light blue, satiny pajamas. "What's all the noise? Wha... Rose?" She came to a halt at the base of the staircase and simply stared at the frozen image of Rose on the main screen. "When was that taken?"

Tony turned around to look over his shoulder. "It's _Live_ mum!"

"Live? Don't be stupid. It's just a picture," she said rather quietly. Jackie tried to get her heart to slow down, but was failing rather badly. "If this is a joke, young man, you're going to be grounded for the rest of your life!" she shrieked.

Tony pointed to the percent marker at the bottom of the screen, which was at eighty seven percent. "Why would I joke about this? Look!"

Jackie walked slowly across the main living room so she could see what her son was pointing at. She shook her head when she saw it. "So? You're downloading something... right?"

Tony heaved a huge sigh. "Mum! That's a live picture, and she's sending us a databurst. Said that there wasn't a lot of time."

Jackie sat on the footrest that Tony was leaning against, and held her breath while she watched the percentage bar fill. It didn't seem to be going fast enough to suit her.

When it hit one hundred percent, the picture jumped from the still of Rose looking down, to two blondes staring out at them. Apparently they were in the middle of a conversation. "... your Uncle Tony, and that little girl is your Aunt Laura. I can't believe it!" Rose noticed that the picture on her end changed. "Mum! Mum, we don't have a lot of time so just listen. We sent you a video that will explain everything." Jackie heard the Doctor say 'ten seconds' which caused both women to look to their left briefly. "Okay, you heard the man. Say hello Jenny." The other blond spoke up with a slight wave, "Hello, grandmother!"

It was Jackie's turn to have her mouth drop open. "How long has it been for you?"

Rose shook her head. "Time's up. Watch the video we sent. I love-" she was cut off and the picture froze on both of their faces.

Tony turned around to see tears running down his mother's face. Picking up his sister, he got on his knees and turned so that the three of them could hug. "It's okay, mum. She said she sent a video."

Jackie took Laura from Tony, and spoke in a whisper. "Go get your father." Seeing the wide eyed look of fear on her son's face, she sighed. "Oh all right, I'll wake him up. Just get whatever she sent queued up, yeah?"

* * *

It was ten minutes of haranguing Pete out of bed before Jackie nearly shouted the place down. Tony, in his thirteen year old wisdom, fetched some coffee for his old man and had it ready for him when he came downstairs. That got a sleepy hand ruffling of his hair and a 'thanks, kiddo'.

"What am I looking at again?" Pete asked a bit blearily, as he sat down. He grunted as he adjusted his dressing gown.

Jackie sighed and looked at Tony. He got the hint and ran the video file. A video window came up to show either the Doctor or that strange twin of his in front of a oddly curved wall of beige like orange. Pete's eyes jumped wide open at that point, and he downed his coffee in one huge gulp. "Play it," he said.

Tony hit the button and the video started up, slightly staticy. _"Hello there, this is the Doctor speaking. I know you want to hear from Rose, so I'll be as brief as I can."_

_"We have a way of communicating now, even though it's a bit primitive. Some advanced math was discovered so that we can open a small crack between universes. Not near big enough for us to come through personally, mind, but good enough for transmissions. However, the window is only good for three point eight six minutes."_

_"Since it's so short, we thought it would be better to send videos, pictures, and the like. That way we can talk more, even though it's mostly one sided. The way this works is that we can open a crack, send you information, maybe say hello, then the crack closes. Oh, and don't worry Pete. This is far safer than those cannon thingies your Torchwood came up with."_

_The Doctor looked to his right and nodded. "I'm being pestered to hurry up, so I'll finish this off with a message to Jackie: Jackie, I give you my solemn vow that I will protect Rose with my very life. If anything happens to her, I don't know what I would do with myself or to myself."_

_Rose's hand came into the picture and rubbed his shoulder. "Oh, and I'm very sorry I won't get to see your initial reaction to this: I'm your son-in-law," he said with a cheesy grin._

"WHAT?" Jackie screeched. Pete snorted, which got her to turn towards him with a scowl. Tony hit the pause button.

"Like you didn't know that was going to happen, love," Pete said, grinning ear to ear.

Tony nudged her shin from the floor. "Well, I think it's a good thing, seeing as how they made you grandparents and all."

"What?" Pete said, looking down at him.

Jackie came to herself. "Oh... right. Damn. I wanted to be there for her wedding!" she wailed.

"You want me to hit play again?" Tony asked. His parents looked back down, and he noticed that Laura had fallen asleep in his dad's arms.

"Yeah, kiddo. Go ahead." Pete said, nodding.

_The picture unfroze to show Rose's hand coming away from the Doctor's shoulder to cuff the back of his head. "That wasn't how I was gonna say that, you prat." There were some other chuckles from off camera, and Rose shoved the Doctor off the stool to sit in front of the camera._

_"Hello mum! God, I hope this works. And yeah, we got married. We did it initially the way they did it on the Doctor's home planet. But after we find River, we're gonna have a proper Earth wedding as well."_

_A voice sounding like the Doctor sounded off from the background, causing Rose to look to her left. "You didn't tell me that, Brother! Why are you waiting?" The same voice answered back, and Rose looked to her right. "Because we didn't want you to be left on the sidelines." Rose looked to her left again. "You don't have to do that!" And Rose spoke up. "Boys! Trying to talk to my mother, here!" That got a "Sorry" from either side of her._

_"Right, like I was saying. Yeah, we're married. And, I wanted to tell you that you were right. Remember when you and I were in the TARDIS, when the ghosts happened just before you and I got stuck where you are? Remember what you said to me? You were right."_

_"That's why I didn't show my age when I was there for ten years. What I did to save the Doctor changed me. And... I'm sorry. I'm still me, but I'm not human anymore. I'm like him. Don't get upset or anything, because I'm still me. I promise. Yeah, I'll probably look different like he did that Christmas after a while. But I'm going to live a very long life, so don't be sad for me. I love you."_

Tony felt his father poke him, and he hit the pause button again. Looking back, he saw that his mother had her face buried in his father's shoulder, quietly crying. Pete motioned him to take his sister, and mouthed 'Put her to bed, please. We need a moment.'

* * *

After taking his sister to her room for a proper nap, Tony sat quietly at the foot of the stair for a bit, while his parents talked quietly. He didn't fully understand what Rose meant, but it had upset their mother greatly. He wasn't sure how to take that. She still looked like Rose, so what was the problem?

Tony sat there and fidgeted for what felt like a long time, until Pete spoke up again. "All right, you can come in now. I can hear you wigglin' back there."

He wasn't sure he wanted to hear more of this, but it was his sister...

* * *

 

## *Chapter 2*: Field Trip

* * *

Rose was perched on the settee in the sitting room, with a rather complete blank stare on her face. It wasn't the fact that it'd been seven weeks, three days, nineteen hours, forty five minutes and twenty seconds... _with only a brief stop off for bananas_. It was the fact that she was _completely aware_ of the seven weeks, three days, nineteen hours, forty five minutes and twenty six seconds. Time was ticking away in her head, and she didn't know how to turn it off. That ticking was slowly starting to turn her mental.

She totally adored the TARDIS, but she was missing real fresh air, different skies overhead, and oddly enough... actually being either locked up or running for her life... as crazy as that was. The adrenaline rush wasn't there, and it was making her crazy. Trying to keep that a secret was as futile as preventing the other three from finding a secret stash of bananas, especially since all of them were telepathic now. Her gloom permeated the area around her, as well as colouring the mood of their home.

The Doctor walked briskly into the room with concern plastered all over his face. "Rose? What's the matter?"

She didn't reply until he was sitting next to her and held her from the side. She leaned her head onto his shoulder. "Point blank? I'm bored outta my skull."

His face twisted up in confusion. "Bored? You've got to be putting me on." He lifted her chin with a finger and looked into her eyes. "I thought you were enjoying all the education as well as getting to know our daughter?"

"It's not that," Rose said with a shake of her head. "I love you, her, John, and especially the TARDIS, but it's like the walls are closing in on me. All the domestics are starting to lose their appeal." She lowered her eyes. "Sorry. No second thoughts here, it's just getting a bit claustrophobic lately. I miss a real sky."

The Doctor half smiled, and blew out a relieved sigh. "I get it. Got cabin fever, have we?"

A very apologetic expression that was close to tears came across her face, and she looked up with a nod. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Oh, no, no, no. None of that, love," he said with a grin and palmed the side of her face to give her a brief kiss. "Besides, I think it's past time for a bit of a field trip for Jenny. What you think?"

Relief washed over her and she gave him a light and small smile. "Oh yes, please." She kissed him rather passionately for exactly thirty seconds, before she pulled back with a look of pure annoyance. "And could you tell me how to turn this internal clock off, already? It's drivin' me 'round the bend!"

The Doctor snorted a chuckle, but the look she gave him pulled him up short though. "Sorry." He thought for another twelve seconds, trying not to smile, then shook his head. "Actually, no I'm not," he snickered. "That's damned funny!"

Rose whacked him on the arm rather hard, then couldn't help but laugh with him. "Asshole," she said quietly.

"Love me anyway?" he asked with a knowing smile.

She gave him a half angry smile and nodded. "You know I do, you prat."

He chuckled and placed his fingertips on her temples. Then his brow arched when the intensity of her sense of time became readily apparent. "Okay, wow. Yeah, that would bug me to no end."

"See?"

"Yeah, okay," he said. "Sorry 'bout that. I guess that last brainbuff got it started. Let me put it in the background for you." The Doctor gave a slight mental push. "How's that?"

Rose sighed with obvious relief, and breathed out quietly, "Oh, thank god." She enjoyed the quiet for a moment. "Don't relish the idea of becoming a kitchen timer, me."

He smirked. "Well, you wouldn't burn the potatoes if you were."

She smacked his arm again. "One time! And that was _your_ fault!" Her eyes glazed over slightly. " _Although_ , one hell of a distraction, that," she purred in a seductive voice and a wistful smile. "Never going to look at the kitchen table the same way again, thanks."

"Oh, that was definitely _my_ pleasure, there," he said just as quietly. His tone of voice nearly sent Rose's blood to boil.

They were almost kissing again, when Jenny rushed into the room. She was holding her head with a look of panic on her face. "Dad, make it stop!" she pleaded. It looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

"Ought-oh. Looks like I'm not the only one with a stopwatch in my head," Rose said and bit her lip with a look of pained sympathy.

* * *

After getting Jenny's sense of time under control, the Doctor announced that they were going on a planetary field trip. John was as excited as the rest of them when he heard that, as he was also feeling a bit fenced in. However, when they gathered in the console room, all three of them gave the Doctor a dubious look.

Sitting in neatly folded piles next to the door, were four different space suits. Rose and John recognized two of the suits, as they were from that sanctuary base at Krop-Tor. And it was rather obvious that River's suit from The Library was next to those, with one just like it right next to it.

"Okay, I'm lost," Rose said. "There was only one of each of those. Where'd the other two come from? And I thought the white one was just a bio hazard suit?"

"Had the TARDIS duplicate them," the Doctor explained as he went around the console, setting the ship into motion. "Also converted the others to actual zero pressure suits. Wasn't that hard, actually."

Rose and Jenny shared a confused look, but Jenny beat her to the question. "The TARDIS can make things?"

The twins grinned. "Of course she can," John said. "How else do you think she makes the most brilliant of dinners and desserts? With the correct block transfer equations, you can make or do pretty much anything, really. If you have the power for it, that is."

The Doctor nodded. "We've got a surplus of power from hanging about in the vortex, and she didn't mind doing this for you lot. Did you, old girl?"

_It was my pleasure_ , their home said brightly.

Rose smiled with her tongue stuck in between her teeth. "Thanks!" A thought occurred, and the smile turned into a frown. "Hold on. All those milk runs? Food, clothes, knickknacks and the like? I'm confused. Why do all that, if she could simply create them all?"

The Doctor leaned over so he could look at her from behind the time rotor. "Takes power to do that. Not to mention actual matter to convert. Plus, if it's something new, she wont know how to make it if she doesn't have the correct equations for it. But, if it's something that's been brought inside before, it can be duplicated."

Rose tilted her head, thinking. "And that absolutely fabulous cake she made last week?"

"That was something I picked up from Sto several centuries ago," the Doctor said with a smile.

"Does that work with living things?" Jenny asked, somewhat curious but cringing at the thought at the same time.

"No," the girls heard in stereo. "For one thing, it's too complicated," the Doctor said. "And that practice was banned eons ago," John added.

"Why?" Jenny asked.

The twins shared a pained look. "The results from those experiments always went wrong," John said.

"How?" Rose asked, morbidly curious herself.

The boys shared another pained expression with each other. "Uhm..." the Doctor started. "Think 'Night of the Living Dead' without the rotting and brain cravings."

"Oh dear god," Rose muttered with a shudder.

Jenny was confused. "What?"

"Living corpses," John explained. "Complete vegetables with zero brain activity."

Her face twisted up with disgust. "Ew."

"Yeah," the Doctor said. "C'mon. Let's table that discussion for another time, and get suited up... shall we?"

"Where we going?" Rose asked.

Her husband smiled. "That's a surprise, love."

John arched his brow, intrigued, but was mentally rebuffed when he tried wriggling the information out of him.

* * *

The brothers had suited up in the orange and yellow suits, and the girls were in the white, when they stepped out of the TARDIS. The sky was a light shade of pink, and the ground was rocky and red all over.

Jenny adjusted to the different gravity rather easily, but Rose bounced nearly out of control with a squeaking yelp before John and the Doctor caught her. "Careful, there," John said, his voice tinny through the radio.

After she was steady, Rose looked around rather enthralled. She whipped around to stare at her husband. "Is this Mars?"

The Doctor's head bobbed inside his helmet. "D'you like it?"

She beamed at him. "This is fantastic!" Rose hugged him awkwardly. "Thank you so much! I always wanted to see this."

They started walking up a small hill. Rose had to hold on to the Doctor so she wouldn't bounce quite so much. Even though the going was easy, they took it slow so she would get used to the lower gravity.

"So what's Mars, then?" Jenny asked.

John patted her shoulder. "It's the fourth planet in the system your mother was born in. Named after a god of war, ironically enough."

"We're close to Earth?" Jenny asked with wide eyes.

"Yep," Rose said. "Tonnes of books were written about this place, mostly fiction. Heinlein's was one of my favorites as a kid."

"'Red Planet' or 'Stranger in a Strange Land'?" John asked.

"Both!" Rose said with a smile. "Took me a while to get around the American phrases, but they were wonderful." She laughed, suddenly. "You know, after all those languages we were buffed with, I should read them again. Probably make more sense, now."

"Hmmm," the Doctor mused. "As much as I like the idea of the whole 'Water Brothers' thing, the reality wasn't quite so kind."

"Not really, no," John agreed.

Rose turned her head to look at the Doctor. She frowned over the fact that the helmet didn't move with the motion, and could only see part of him. "How so?"

"Well, the original inhabitants weren't the idealized 'old one's' from the books. Unlike Venus, the Martians had a very militaristic society." He stopped his explanation as he felt John's emotions plummet. "John? What's the matter?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. Just made me think of Donna with that." He felt the confusion from Rose and Jenny, then explained. "Took a while to convince her that we weren't from Mars."

Rose chuckled. "Not exactly little green men, no."

"Pardon?" Jenny was confused.

"Another fictional reference, honey," Rose explained. "If you want, we can make a night of it watching old movies. Always good for a laugh."

"Not a bad idea there, Rose," the Doctor said.

"I'll pass, thanks," John said rather quietly.

They stopped when they got to the crest of the hill, and the Doctor turned to his brother. "Oh, I didn't think... I'm so sorry."

"It's alright."

Jenny took a hold of John's arm. "What's wrong? You feel so sad."

John sighed. "Sorry. I really miss her, is all. Still breaks my hearts thinking about what happened to her." Jenny frowned and rubbed his back, biting her lip rather hard. She flooded his mind with love and understanding. "Thanks," he said with a sad smile.

"What's that?" Rose asked, pointing to the distance.

The other three turned and saw domed buildings in the distance. They seemed to be connected to a central dome. "Ohhh, that's beautiful," the boys said.

Jenny tilted her head. "A base? Here? That doesn't make any sense."

John smiled. "This must be in the early days of the colonization." He put his hand on Jenny's shoulder and pointed. "That there is one of several bases that Earth set up. I'm guessing that in a few decades, the first actual colony will go online. Is that right brother?"

The Doctor smiled when Rose put her arm around his back and squeezed. Her sense of wonder spiraled into him and filled him with her pleasure over this. "Should be. We're in the mid twenty first century. The actual colony was set up shortly after the twenty second millennium."

"Why so long?" Rose asked. "Between the bases and the colony I mean?"

The Doctor pivoted to look at her. "Actually, that's a rather good question." He smiled when she beamed at him. "The original had a catastrophe, and it took them a while to send up parts and personnel for new bases. Things really got going when they set up a robotic mine and foundry. Was so much easier using materials from here, rather than sending them all from Earth."

"Why's that?" Jenny asked.

"Technology of this period is rather primitive when it comes to space exploration," John explained. "At this point in time, they're still using liquid powered rockets. Takes a lot of fuel to just break the Earth's gravity well, and that consumption goes up exponentially per pound of cargo. It's going to be a rather long while before they discover how to manipulate gravity fields for propulsion."

Jenny nodded, then realized no one could see it. "That makes sense."

"Once they do, though," the Doctor said, "they get to the next closest star rather damned quickly. It's at that point in history that humanity starts to explode around the galaxy." He smiled. "How I love them all."

"Indomitable," John said in full agreement, smiling wide.

Rose grinned and squeezed her husband. "Glad you do, otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"He'd be a right sad git if that had happened," John said with a chuckle.

"Oi!"

"Uh, Dad? I think we've been noticed." Jenny said, pointing down the hill.

They all looked to where she was pointing, and saw someone in a rather bulky space suit trudging up the hill, carrying a rifle. An odd looking robot was trundling behind him.

"Shit," John said. "Quick, what frequency are they on? I forgot."

"Uhh... Uhmm..." the Doctor stuttered, then looked at them all. "Forty seven point nine nine eight. Switchover, and use telepathy to talk to each other, right?"

The Doctor, John, and Jenny swapped channels, but Rose had some trouble. _'I can't find the bloody thing.'_ She was fumbling with the controls at her collar, when Jenny reached over and changed it for her. _'Thanks, swee'hear'.'_

_'No problem, mum,_ ' Jenny said with a smile.

_'Let me do the talking,'_ the Doctor said.

When the person was within twenty yards, the Doctor spoke up with an exaggerated wave of his arm. "Hello there!"

The person flinched and held his rifle up, pointing it at them. "Don't move! You're under arrest!" They couldn't see the face behind the shield, but the voice was definitely male.

"Oh dear," John said. "Uhm... we surrender?"

* * *

 

## *Chapter 3*: Guns, Swearing, and Monsters

* * *

The inside of the base was very clean. John, Rose, Jenny, and the Doctor all had their space suits off and their hands up. An older blonde woman was pointing a gun at them. "State your names, ranks, and intentions."

"The Doctor. Doctor. Fun."

"Johnathon Edward Storm. Doctor. Also fun," he grinned cheekily.

"Rose Marion Tyler, The Doctor's wife and all around Pain-in-his-Arse. And believe me, it's fun," she smiled wide when the Doctor gave her a look of surprise. "Well, it is," she winked saucily.

Chuckles filled the room from the lady's subordinates. She on the other hand, was not impressed in the slightest.

"Jennifer Lillian Tyler, their daughter. And quite frankly, I love the running." She beamed a smile at that. Out of everything, introducing herself by her full name for the first time pleased her to the core.

When the Doctor cottoned on to where they were, John's eyes bulged as he couldn't believe he'd missed it either. His gob open, he turned his head to look at Rose - who was wondering what all the fuss was about. "It's now," he said, then thought to her, _'_ This _is the fixed point the TARDIS warned me about._ This _is the original base that went_ boom _. We_ can't _interfere. We have to get him_ out _of here!'_

Rose gasped "No," and looked to the Doctor - who was busy rattling off the names of the bases personnel in complete admiration. Feeling the amount of respect he had for these people, her hearts ached for him. It wasn't fair.

Jenny grabbed her mother's hand and squeezed it, worried and concerned. The alarm that Rose and John were radiating overpowered her father's confounding sense of joy. _'What's wrong?'_ she thought to them, unshielded.

The Doctor was pulled up short when he heard Jenny, then felt the waves of sad compassion from Rose and the determination from his brother. "What? You can't tell me that this doesn't..." He shook his head. "No... We're here for a reason. You can't deny that! Think about Pompeii!"

John's face didn't change. "Nope, we're leaving."

Jenny's head snapped to her uncle when she heard that. Her eyes were wide, remembering what River told her, and she now understood why her mother and uncle were so disturbed.

Captain Brooke turned to point her gun at them again. "The hell you are. What organization do you work for?"

John frowned at her. "We don't work for any organization, Adelaide Brooke. We came here on an educational field trip for my niece. Nothing we say will make any sense to you except this: We're. Not. Human."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open in wide eyed shock. "John!"

When the captain pointed her gun at John, visibly shaken, he said "Jenny" rather quietly.

Jenny's leg snapped out and kicked the gun straight up out of the captain's hand. It flipped in the air and she caught it left handed. Thumbing the release, she ejected the battery and tossed it and the gun behind her, over opposite shoulders.

Everyone backed up from them and stared at the girl. She glared back at them. "What? We came in peace; we don't like guns; and I'm beyond tired of you threatening my family with them. So either bite me or fuck off."

"Language, young lady," Rose said, whipping her head around to look at her. While she was completely impressed by her display, the thought of her swearing made her cringe.

"Uncle John does it all the time," Jenny muttered.

Rose punched John's shoulder while still looking at Jenny. "I don't care if he farts a tuba out his arse, you will be _respectful_ when you speak!"

John rubbed his shoulder and bit his tongue to keep from laughing at what she said. Snorts from the others in the room vindicated how he felt, but he wasn't about to piss Rose off any more than she already was. That did hurt, after all.

Jenny lowered her head slightly, but kept her eyes on everyone in the room. "Sorry, mum."

Captain Brooke was holding her hand, and had her mouth hanging open. "You really _are_ her daughter? How the hell is that possible? You two look the same age!"

"I told you," John said quietly. "We're _different_ from you."

The Doctor was appalled. He had a mutiny on his hands, and absolutely no clue as to what to do next. The only thing he could think of to say though was, "Farts a tuba?" The very idea of such a thing happening caused him to smirk.

John lost it at that point and started laughing like a madman. That got a couple of others going as well, and even Captain Brooke stifled a snicker. Rose blushed profusely, and hid her face in her hands. "Oh my god, I just turned into my own mother," she said, completely embarrassed.

Adelaide's second walked over to a comm station and hit the switch. "Maggie, if you want to meet the only new people you're going to see in five years, better come take a look. And apparently, they're aliens... though you wouldn't know to look at them."

There was a pause, and then a strange gurgling growl came over the speaker. Everyone looked around, confused and disturbed. Mia muttered, "What was that?"

John looked at his brother. "We need to go... _Now._ "

"But..." the Doctor started, but then sighed in resignation. Rose walked over to him and wrapped him up in a hug.

There was a flurry of activity from the base personnel, as they tried to figure out what was happening. Cameras were down, and external shots of the bio dome showed it going dark.

The Captain looked up. "I'm going over there. Doctor, with me."

John glared at her. "Absolutely _not_. For one thing, we're not supposed to be here. For another, they're married and have a child. If any of us are going to go with you, I will. Stuff them in the brig if you want, just let _me_ come with you." He held up his finger at the Doctor when he hissed his protest. "Don't _argue_ with me, brother." Mentally, he told him, _'Let me do this so we can get out of here. We can't interfere, and you know it. I'll convince her we had nothing to do with this, so we can scarper.'_

_'Dad, listen to him. River told me to stop you from doing something wrong here, just like TARDIS did with Uncle John.'_ Jenny thought.

"It... I..." the Doctor stuttered. Rose held him tighter, trying not to cry from feeling his hearts break.

"Fine," Adelaide said. "Johnathon, was it?"

"John's less of a mouthful," he nodded with a smile.

"Alright. Ed, you and Yuri take these three to the infirmary. It's not a brig, but it's the best we can do. Put them in the isolation ward."

* * *

"This is cozy," Jenny said while dangling her feet off the single bed in the room. "Reminds me of the day I was born."

The Doctor smiled sadly, but Rose gave her a curious look. "This reminds you of being locked up with Donna and your father?" Jenny grinned and nodded. Rose turned to the Doctor. "Definitely our child. She's actually happy about this," she said with a smirk. And if she was absolutely honest with herself, she was too.

"This happen to you often?" Yuri asked through the speaker. All three of them shrugged at him, slightly surprised that they were being overheard. "So what's your secret?" he asked, looking at Rose.

A look of confusion crossed her face. "Pardon?"

Yuri smiled. "Your youthful expression."

The Doctor snickered, and Rose rolled her eyes. Jenny just smiled. "Well, if you must know... I'll be thirty three in a couple of months."

"Had her young, then?" Ed asked, intrigued.

"Born old," Jenny said, startling the men. "I'm eight," she said with a wide smile.

They looked at her with unadulterated shock. "Come again?" Yuri quietly asked.

"I'm eight years old," Jenny repeated. "Like my uncle said... we're different."

"I can't believe he told," the Doctor muttered. "That goes against everything we've ever been taught."

Rose rubbed his arm. "I think this falls into extenuating circumstances, love."

The comm popped static and the Captain's voice could be heard. "Yuri, Maggie's injured or something. Bring the portable gurney. Ed, stay and watch them."

Ed gave the speaker a flippant salute with pursed lips. "Yes, ma'am." He ignored the order though. Locking the isolation room, he followed Yuri out.

_'This place really needs bikes.'_ John broadcast to them in annoyance. _'Don't touch Maggie. She's infected or something. Think I'm wearing Adelaide down, though.'_

_'You be careful!'_ Rose scolded. _'No tellin' what's goin' on.'_

"Is this not the perfect time for..." Jenny started to ask.

"No. We're staying here," the Doctor interrupted. "The more they trust us, the better chance we can leave in peace. I don't want to hurt any of these people. They've got enough on their minds without us adding to it."

They were let out of the isolation room a few minutes later, and Maggie was put in their place. Assuring them that they wouldn't cause any trouble, they stayed in there with Yuri and Ed. Maggie woke up not long after, and when the nurse was talking about the Earth, the Doctor stopped him and turned him around. _'Brother, she's not infected. She's possessed. Get_ Out _of there!'_

* * *

"We have to leave... now." John said to Adelaide, as he gently pulled her back to the door of the arboretum.

She was in the middle of protesting when her second came over the comm. 'Captain, something's really wrong with Maggie. Her lips are all cracked and her teeth are pitch black. Water is coming out of her in droves.'

John and Adelaide heard twin growling coming from everywhere. "I... I think you're right," she said to John. "Let's go."

* * *

The Doctor got Maggie's attention by a string of indecipherable syllables. "What language is that?" Ed asked.

"Ancient Martian." Needless to say, the Doctor's reply got scoffs.

Yuri was puzzled. "While I doubt you're being serious, she seemed to recognize it."

"I can't believe you just asked her where Elvis is," Rose said with a smile, chuckling.

Ed gave the Doctor an incredulous look. "You did _not_..."

The Doctor just grinned and nodded at him. "Thankyouverymuch."

' _Dammit! Bikes!'_ John shouted loud enough to cause the three of them to flinch. They looked up when they felt his panic. "What's happening?" the Doctor and Rose asked both aloud and telepathically. That got them some more confused looks.

Rose gasped. "Oh no. Andy and Tarak are infected."

"They're chasing the Captain and my brother from the arboretum," the Doctor said.

Ed looked at them like they were crazy. "How can you know that?"

"We're telepathic," Rose explained as she got a hold of Yuri's arms. "Or if it sounds better to you, we have internal comms. Don't care which."

The Doctor grabbed Ed by the elbow. "Never mind that. We have to get out of here." He was staring at Maggie, who gave him a glaring frown.

Ed struggled a bit, but Jenny grabbed his other arm and they drug him out of the room. "Lock it," she told him. When he hesitated, Rose pulled out her sonic and did it for him.

Yuri gaped at them. "You could've gotten out at any time!"

"Yeah, but we need you to trust us," Rose said. "We're not the bad guys. We never were."

* * *

Everyone who wasn't in the control centre already, came in at just about the same time. The Doctor and Rose ran over to John. "You all right?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah. They didn't touch us," John panted. "I'm telling you though. Bikes." He shook his head, annoyed. "They're using water like a weapon."

Captain Adelaide started typing at the computer, then slapped a large yellow button. "We're in lock down!"

* * *

## *Chapter 4*: Discoveries and Sad News

* * *

Clanging sounds reverberated in the distance, making Rose and Jenny look around in confusion. _'Lockdown... Is she serious?'_ Rose asked. _'How the hell are we supposed to leave now?'_

_'Worry about that later, Rosie,'_ John answered. He walked over to Ed and tapped his shoulder. "Do you have video logs for the bio dome?"

"Yes... Why?" Ed replied.

The Doctor came over. "What are you thinking?"

"We found Maggie not ten feet from that air lock. Tarak was with us at the time, and Andy was in there to begin with. All are infected and dripping wet. The bio dome's the common denominator, and I saw a lot of hydroponics when I was in there. Whatever's going on, it started with the water."

The Doctor turned to Ed. "Is your water supply recycled?"

"No, it's not," he replied, shaking his head. "We're sitting on top of a huge glacier. That's why we chose this site in the first place."

"Glacier?" John said with wide eyes.

The Doctor looked down and shook his head. "Oh, brilliant."

"It's filtered though," Ed said, completely confused. "It's supposed to be safe."

"Oh, obviously!" John barked with more than a bit of sarcasm.

Adelaide heard the commotion, and came over to listen to them.

The Doctor gave him a look. "Stop it." Turning to the monitor, he tapped at the keyboard and pulled up the security log list. Selecting that day, he pulled up the file and went backwards from the end. Spotting something, he paused it and hit play. "What's he doing?"

Ed and John looked at the screen. "Looks like he's nibbling something," John said. They then watched Andy go into convulsions. "There. Back it up a minute or two. See where he got it from."

The Doctor did that and hit pause again. "Is that a carrot?" he asked, squinting at the screen.

Ed nodded. "Andy was determined to have real vegetables by Christmas."

"Hit play," John prompted. They watched Andy smiling at the orange vegetable, and then go to a spigot to wash it off. "Stop! There's the water connection. He cleans it, takes a bite, then has a fit."

"Hold on," Ed interrupted and nudged the Doctor out of the way. Typing at the keyboard, he explained. "He said some colourful things yesterday about government contractors."

He found the file quickly and played it. Andy appeared on the screen, looking completely annoyed. _'_ _Maintenance log, 21.20, November 20, fifty nine. Number Three water filter's bust. And guess what, the spares they sent don't fit. What a surprise. Anyhow, no panic. One and Two filters seem to be okay. Over and out.'_

"A filter!" the brothers said. "One _bloody_ little filter," John complained. "Then the dam burst," the Doctor continued the thought.

"It takes a week for the water to cycle out of the bio dome," Adelaide said from behind them, getting their attention. "That means the infection happened today, and the rest of us are clean!" Turning to the rest of the crew, she raised her voice. "Everyone, I'm declaring Action One with immediate effect. Mission Unsafe! We're leaving!"

The crew looked shocked, but scrambled at the order with only one complaint. "But we came all this way," Roman said with a look of pain.

Steffi turned and pulled him around by his shoulder. "The mission is terminated, Roman. Get your essentials, then help Mia with the food stores. I've got the central computer."

Rose spoke up over the din. "Captain? About our suits?"

Adelaide looked at her and nodded. "Steffi! Get their space suits out of lock up." She got a nod out of the woman, who turned towards storage. Jenny and Rose followed after her.

John placed a hand on Adelaide and Ed's arms. "I need to speak to the two of you in private. Wont take long, I promise."

"You've got two minutes, John," Adelaide said. "We can use the communications booth."

The Doctor looked at his brother, alarmed. "What are you up to?"

"Never mind," John said. "Get Rose and Jenny sorted." Setting up a mental screen, he thought to him as he followed Ed and Adelaide into the booth. _'You know why. This isn't just you anymore. Share the load, now go.'_

The Doctor frowned at his brother's retreating form, but knew he was right. Scowling, he turned away and went to help the girls with the suits.

Once they were inside the communications booth, Adelaide gave John an impatient look. "Make this quick. We have a half a year trip or more to stock up for."

John nodded. "This will be as quick as I can make it. Just trust me." In the small confines of the booth, it was easy for him to reach out to both of them and place his fingers on their temples, even though they both shied away.

* * *

The base faded from sight around them, and changed to a simple white room. Ed whirled around and away from John while Adelaide simply gasped. "What's going on? What'd you do to us?"

"Calm down," John said. "This is the fastest way for me to relay information. When we're done, only a second of actual time will have passed."

"You really are telepathic?" Ed asked, petrified. Adelaide looked at him in shock.

"Yes," John nodded. "Normally, I'd ask permission first, but this is an emergency and I apologize. Don't worry, I won't be changing anything in your mind, but you have the right to know what's happening no matter what my brother may think."

Adelaide forced herself to remain calm, impressing John immensely. "All right. What is so important that you have to invade our heads?"

John sighed. "This isn't... Oh hell, never mind. I'm here to tell you about your granddaughter."

"What about her?" Ed shouted.

Adelaide glared at him. "Ed!"

"Calm Down!" John said, waving for them to settle. Turning to Adelaide, he tried to explain. "Remember what I said to you on the way to the bio dome, about how Einstein was wrong about the speed of light?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but you sounded like a nutter, so I ignored it."

John smiled. "I'm in your head, love. Now's not the time to question sanity."

"You're about to talk about time travel, aren't you?" Ed asked, completely taking John off guard.

"How did you know that?" he asked him with wide eyes. He was completely confused when he discovered that all of his mental doors were in place.

"We heard your chatter," Ed said. "Why else do you think I was out there with a rifle?"

"Sounded crackers, the lot of you," Adelaide added. "But you were here, and that wasn't possible. So I ignored that and sent him out there. Still think you're round the bend."

John made a mental note to set up some scramblers on the suits later, and berate his brother for his oversight. "Okay. Crackers or not, this is important." He pointed ahead of him, where a huge screen appeared with a file of a woman on it. "That right there is your legacy... both of you."

They turned to look at the screen and had matching expressions of shock on their face. In huge letters at the top, read the name 'Susan Fontana Brooke'. Marveling at the picture of a young woman in uniform, they both stepped closer to read.

_'First Lightspeed Ship - Proud Heritage. Susie Fontana Brooke has been successful in her mission to Proxima Centauri. Entering the Space Agency at an early age, Brooke followed in the footsteps of her grandmother, the legendary Captain Adelaide Brook, who led the mission to set up the first scientific colony on Mars - A mission that ended in tragedy. A veil of darkness spread over the planet with the news of a nuclear blast in 2059 which destroyed Bowie Base One.'_

Adelaide turned to John. "That's really her?" He nodded. "Why are you telling us this?"

Ed put a hand on her shoulder and turned her back around. Pointing at the screen, he read aloud. "... first scientific colony on Mars - A mission that ended in tragedy." He turned to look at John. "Tragedy? Nuclear blast? Why? Are you here to stop this?"

John startled them both when he said, "No."

"Then why?" Adelaide asked him.

John looked at his feet. "Like I said before, we're here by accident. My brother wanted to give Jenny an educational field trip about the Martian colonization. That was all. We got the year wrong."

"But you fix this now, right?" Ed asked.

"No," John said. "I'm sorry, but we can't. And the reason is Suzie."

That brought them up short. "What do you mean?" Adelaide asked.

John looked pained. "Your death here is her inspiration. The reason my brother admires you lot so much, is because she's one of his heroes. You both were the reason for Suzie's obsessive drive for space. Her flight was the catalyst for human expansion into the galaxy for the first time." He paused, looking into their faces one at a time. "Your legacy is the dawn of the first Federated Alliance with the other powers in this spiral arm of the Milky Way. Your descendents... and yes Ed, I know she's your granddaughter as well... Your descendents reach out to the stars because of what happens here today, and grab them with both hands."

They were quiet and staring at each other, so he continued. "Normally, we can come in and tweak things to make them better. But, there are points of history that must _never_ be changed at all costs, lest all of history falls apart. Call them fixed points. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo? Fixed. Hitler's invasion of Poland? Fixed. Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor? Fixed. The Moonshot? Fixed. Suzie's light speed flight to Proxima Centauri? Fixed... and by extension..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Today... Fixed."

Adelaide closed her eyes and bent her head down with her face twisted up. Ed closed the gap between them and hugged her close. "Why..." she started, then swallowed. "Why are you telling us this?"

John's voice was wobbly with emotion. "Consolation. You needed to know. My brother is conflicted with this, because he idolizes Suzie and wants to save her some pain. But it's wrong, and will undo an enormous amount of human history - both in space as well as here on Mars. The detonation must've obliterated whatever microbes are locked in the glacier, because by the middle of the next century there are thousands of colonists on the planet - no infections."

Ed looked over at him to see tears streaking down John's face. "You'll forgive us if we try anyway. I'm not about to go down without a fight."

John smiled sadly. "Indomitable. Just remember one thing. Those microbes targeted Andy and Maggie, not the birds I heard chirping in the bio dome. What does Earth have that Mars doesn't?"

"Liquid water," Adelaide said. She pulled away from Ed and placed her hands over her nose and mouth. "Oh god."

"One drop," John said, "and what happens here will happen there."

She steeled herself and looked at Ed. "When we're out of here, I want you to get to the rocket and set up for immediate launch. If for some reason it gets compromised..."

"I'll do it," Ed whispered. "John, get us out of this thing."

* * *

 

## *Chapter 5*: Watery Explosions

* * *

The only person who was looking at the three of them at the time, was Yuri. And all he noticed was John touching their temples before running his fingers through either of their hair. He couldn't hear a word of what was being said, but the reaction to whatever it was that John said made them both tear up. What floored him was when the Captain pulled Ed, their second in command, in for a snog. "Now I know we're in trouble," he said.

Mia glanced at him curiously, then to where he was staring. The sight of the two most bickering of individuals sharing what looked like a heartfelt kiss made her mouth drop open. "Oh, wow. Is the world ending?"

* * *

"I'm sorry," John said softly. After tracing their temples, he stepped back. When the captain and commander started their tearful embrace, he made a discrete exit from the communications booth. He moved with a purpose towards the storage compartments to find his brother helping Rose and Jenny suit up.

The Doctor noticed his brother's approach, and was slightly confused. "That didn't take long. What'd you tell them?"

John shook his head and grabbed his suit from the locker. "Not important. Get your kit on. We're done."

John's tone of voice wasn't missed by Rose, who looked at him with concern. "You all right?"

They were briefly interrupted when Ed walked past them. He paused at the door and stared at John. When John looked back at him, he was surprised when Ed stood at attention and gave him a salute. It only made him feel worse. John nodded and looked away. Sticking a leg into the trousers of the space suit, he muttered, "Pith and shite."

The Doctor put a hand firmly on John's shoulder. " _What_ did you tell them?"

John twisted his shoulder out of his brother's grip a bit angrily, without looking up. "Leave it. Get your suit on. I said we're done."

* * *

Pressure checks and connections later, the four of them were in the outer air lock. John hit the button for the atmosphere change, but it beeped a negative. Confused, he looked up to the monitor and saw Adelaide's face.

The Doctor was alarmed when he saw Adelaide's tear stained cheeks. Looking to his left, he saw a similar expression on his brother and frowned. _'You told them!'_

_'Shut it!'_ John replied. _'There was no other choice!'_ Aloud, he simply greeted Adelaide with a quiet "Captain."

Adelaide swallowed and looked at their most impossible visitors. "Doctor, Rose, Jenny, John... Thank you." There was a brief pause of silence, and she continued when they didn't respond. "John, promise me one thing."

"Name it," he said.

"Tell her..." she paused to swallow again and wiped a fresh tear off her face. "Tell her I'm proud of her."

John's smile was pained. "I will."

The picture went dark, and the air lock began venting atmosphere to match the outside pressure. When it cycled, there was a flash of green. Jenny opened the door and went out first.

* * *

The four time travelers were audibly tortured through their radios, and both Rose and John had a hold of the Doctor's hands to keep him moving. Every time he tried to turn around to look, he was pulled back. _'It's not fair!'_ he wailed.

_'No, it's not,'_ Rose agreed. _'But there are limits on what we can do. You preached that at me for a long time. I don't like this any better than you do.'_

Jenny was fretting with her hands while they walked. Even though she only barely understood what was happening, she could feel her father's hearts breaking and it was making her crazy. Trying to distract them all, she asked about something that confused her. _'Who did she mean, the Captain?'_

Rose and John felt their hands being squeezed rather hard by the Doctor. They heard him take a few breaths over the radio, which was now full of a lot of shouting and screaming about water getting in. He tried to respond, but failed.

_'Her granddaughter, Jenny,'_ John said. _'Susie Brooke pilots the first human light speed ship.'_

They were interrupted when they heard Ed shouting over the radio. 'Captain! The shuttle is down!'

The Doctor and John both froze mid step. Rose had to turn fully in order to look at them through the plexiplate of her visor, and saw their matching expressions of pain. _'Jenny, get on the other side. Help me pull.'_

'What the hell d'you mean?' they heard Adelaide ask.

Ed's voice was stuttery and hitched. 'It was Maggie. Locked her out, but she hit me. I can feel it... It's starting... They want this ship... want Earth...'

'Eddie!' Adelaide shouted.

'Better keep... your head down,' Ed's voice sounded more forced.

Rose turned around to look at where the shuttle was in relation to where they were, and pulled the Doctor harder. "We have to move!" she said aloud. "Run!"

That got the brother's feet moving. While the four of them were scrambling, they heard Ed whisper over the radio and repeating the word 'no' over and over. Then his voice was shouting. 'Hated this job! You never forgave me!'

They were panting now, and were doing a strange hopping gate over the Martian surface. Rose was chanting the word 'please' over and over in her head as they ran.

'Susie!' Ed shouted. 'I'm so proud of you!'

They were in the top arc of one of their hopping gates when they were thrust forward. The thundering boom of the shuttle explosion briefly shorted out their comms, and debris was flung all around them. They landed hard and bounced along the dirt, rocks, and metal bits. They all felt something wrong with their leg, but they didn't know which of them it was. A flaming girder hit the ground not ten feet behind them.

The static in their ears switched back to the sounds of the crew scrambling around inside. _'Whose leg is that?'_ Jenny asked, flexing hers to make sure it was fine.

As John and Jenny helped each other up, they were startled by the sound of beeping. John looked at Jenny first, then turned to his brother and Rose. The left leg of Rose's suit had a puncture, and was venting.

The Doctor noticed it at the same time and grabbed the fabric to try to halt the escape of air. _'Rose, switch to your respiratory bypass. You've sprung a leak,'_ he told her. _'My thigh hurts. Is yours sprained or broken?'_

She shook her head even though no one could see it. _'I don't know, but we need to keep moving.'_ The Doctor helped her up, but she cried out when she tried to put her weight on it. "Broken! Definitely broken," she squeaked out loud.

The Doctor flinched as he felt daggers in his leg twist. "Right." Completely distracted by his wife, he and his brother picked her up on either side by her arms and shoulders, then started legging it. Jenny was right behind them.

They were almost to the top of the crater, when the TARDIS moved by herself and suddenly appeared in front of them with both her doors wide open. Jenny was the last inside, and shut them behind her. She watched helplessly, while her father and uncle went straight through the console room, to the infirmary. Pausing inside, she thought it odd that the gravity in the ship matched the outside.

_'Jenny, put us in the vortex!_ ' John told her. _'The TARDIS can survive a nuclear blast, but I don't want to cause her any pain!'_

Removing her helmet, Jenny chucked it to the side as she ran to the controls. She slammed the demat lever hard, and typed some coordinates into the keyboard.

As the TARDIS disappeared from the Martian landscape, the area around it went white.

* * *

**Twenty Three Years Later**

The TARDIS was rotating slowly, and was in orbit of a red dwarf star some four light years from Earth. She wasn't a happy ship. All of her occupants were in various stages of moodiness. From anguish and frustrated anger to helplessness and abject confusion, no one was feeling well, and it was breaking her heart.

Inside the console room, Rose was sitting with Jenny on the jump seat. Rose's left leg was straight out and propped on the edge of the console itself, with a hooked cane resting next to her. She was holding her daughter's hand and felt completely useless. Jenny had her other hand on her mother's back and was rubbing circles into her shoulders for comfort.

The Doctor was standing by himself on the other side of the room with his hands in his pockets. His back was straight, but his head was down. His brother was at the main controls, idly tapping at the keyboard. "Nice piloting, Jenny," he said. "You did very well on your first go."

"Thanks," Jenny answered with a pensive smile. She kept looking at her father and was worried that he hadn't moved at all in the past hour.

Rose on the other hand, was doing her best to soothe her husband's agonized mind. He was being his usual stubborn, martyr-iffic self over what had happened - both to the base as well as to her. All she could do was try to rub away the lines of sadness from his mind, and try to let him know that it wasn't his fault. If it weren't for the reason they were there at that point, she would've had him back in the bedroom for some privacy.

"Here she comes," John said. His typing got faster.

* * *

There was a flash of light in space, and the Earthship _Starhope_ stretched and shrunk into existence. In the pilot seat, sat a woman who was excited and petrified all at once. Looking up and out of the canopy, she could see the reddish hue of Proxima and let out a loud shout of joy. "I did it!"

A beeping from the screen, which was between her legs, caused her to look back down. "What the?" She tapped a key, and saw something completely impossible. Letters started forming words on the screen, and what they said stole the breath from her lungs.

_Susie, you have no idea how proud of you we are. We love you.  
\- Adelaide Brooke, Edward Gold, 21.11.2059_

She stared at it, and wiped her eyes. A few stray drops of tears started floating in front of her, and she batted them aside. Completely confounded as to where the message came from, she simply stared at it. A minute later, the message vanished from the screen. "No! Come back!" she shouted futilely.

Susie sat back in her chair and stared out the canopy at Proxima. A small smile went over her face. No one would ever believe her, but she didn't care.

The sound of her joyous laughter was relayed to four time travelers.

It was a small comfort, but it helped.

* * *

 

## *Chapter 6*: Epilogue: Messages Through the Void

* * *

Tony was enthralled. His big sister always told him bedtime stories of her time with the Doctor, and he missed listening to them. This one was new, and was even better than what he remembered. Maybe it was because he was older, or maybe it was because she was relaying more details. Honestly, it didn't matter to him. All he cared about was the fact that his sister was telling him about more of her adventures.

While her son was fascinated, Jackie was mortified. She'd heard more of the lighter tales from her daughter, so the rather morbid descriptions of what happened on Mars had her nearly breaking Pete's hand.

Pete, on the other hand, was worried. Parallels aside, the fact was that their own Mars Shot was nearly to fruition. That it was to be in the _same exact_ crater appalled him. Tony had to pause the video for thirty minutes after the tale was over because of it. He immediately called the President on his authority as Torchwood Director. While he was cryptic as to where he got the information from, he got through to President Harriet Jones with the earnestness of his warning.

The result of that was rather chaotic. In the years following Pete's call, three probes were launched with bio scanners. When the presence of microbes was discovered in Gusev crater, the nuclear devices at the heart of the three rovers were signaled to detonate... obliterating and vaporizing the area.

In the present, Pete sat back down with a small 'sorry' to Jackie. She thought he was being barmy with it, but didn't comment.

The second video they pulled up was from Jenny. Her smile reminded both of them of Jackie's mother. However, the technical details of what she did to solve the void conundrum went right over their heads... which proved her to be the Doctor's daughter.

Jenny's explanation of her birth had Jackie in a perpetual spin. That is, until Pete reminded her about Laura. They had used a surrogate for their youngest, and Pete told Jackie that Jenny was just a "spacey way of doin' the same thing".

Her heart broke up a bit when Jenny described what had happened to the Doctor while on the Mars base. Jackie was reminded of watching the moonshot as a little girl, and how she thought Neil Armstrong was gorgeous. Strangely enough, the thought of having to do something similar for Armstrong's family made her feel a bit closer to the Doctor in a way. It was confusing.

At the end of Jenny's message, Jackie couldn't help the sense of pride that swelled through her. The thought of someone so brilliant coming into existence from her own family pleased her to no end. That, and the fact that Jenny was responsible for their newfound communications? Blimey, she was chuffed.

The third and last video was from the Doctor's clone... brother... whatever. In it, he assured Jackie that there wasn't any funny business going on between the three of them; that he was the Doctor's brother and Rose's brother-in-law; as well as Jenny's uncle. While that sounded strange to Tony, Pete was thankful for the information due to the quiet conversations that he and Jackie had in the past four years. She was completely relieved.

Jackie had to stop Tony from hitting pause when she started crying again. John was in the middle of explaining what had happened to Donna, and the tears wouldn't stop. She liked the ginger haired madwoman more than a lot, and the thought of her having to forget everything in order to live broke her apart. Donna was a kindred spirit.

Then John went on about what had happened in the Library, and she was transfixed. She still couldn't program the timer on the HDVD player, but all the different points of view happening at the same time had her quite literally on the edge of her seat... Pete and Tony as well, for that matter.

The one thing that John talked about that the others didn't, was how they found Jenny. The whole scenario of persecution and executions bothered both her and Pete to no end. While the battles of the Second World War were slightly different for each of them, the treatment of prisoners by the Nazi's was the same. While it was mostly the Jews that Jackie remembered, Pete recalled that every race that wasn't 'Aryan' were involved.

The last thing John relayed, was the approximate time for a return message from them. Pete scribbled that down and made a point to gather photos and set up a place for them to record their own message.

When it was over, Tony tilted his head in confusion when one of the icons in the packet folder started blinking. "Uh... dad? Is it supposed to do that?"

Pete frowned at it and shook his head. "Maybe it's something the Doctor set up. Open it."

Tony double clicked the icon, and a separate window opened up to the side. "It's a text file?"

Jackie leaned closer, squinting. "Make it bigger, sweetheart. I don't have my glasses." Tony clicked it to fill the screen. When it did, a lady's voice came over the audio, reading the text.

* * *

_Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Prentice Tyler, this message is from the TARDIS. I wanted to finally thank you for letting your daughter return to the year 200,100. While I know that this was a large sacrifice for you, it was your actions that saved my pilot, the Doctor. I was reluctant in opening that panel, because I was afraid of what that much power would do to her._

_Normally, that amount of energy would outright kill anyone, no matter their species. However, once I saw the determination in Rose's mind, I finally understood who and what she is. I am completely aware of my personal past, present, and future. But even then, I did not know who the Doctor's wife was until I heard Rose's mind screaming for him. She was always destined to become a part of time itself, and I wanted to let you know just how extraordinary your daughter truly is._

_You know that the Doctor is the last of his kind. Our planet was destroyed in the war to end all wars in all of creation. He sacrificed everything to ensure the continued survival of existence itself, and the universe responded with the only thing she could: someone to watch over and love him._

_Jenny's creation was a result of Rose, who saw his future temporarily without her. Jenny is the first of the new species of Time Lord. There will be many others, and all of them have you to thank for their very existence. Do not cry for your daughter, Jackie. Rejoice. She is one of two women that will repopulate the Gallifreyan species._

_The woman known as River Song will become a sister to Rose in thought and mind, if not blood. River's marriage to John will ensure that there will be enough of a biological template for the species to survive. While humans need at least two thousand individuals to have a diverse enough line, only three are needed for Gallifreyans. Their biological makeup has thousands of templates embedded within them._

_Love, Respect, and Admiration,_  
Time and Relative Dimensions in Space,  
the Big Blue Box

_P.S.  
_ _Stop crying for Donna._

_P.S.S.  
_ _You were,_ _will be,_ _and are absolutely gorgeous at their wedding._

* * *

Jackie was flabberstaggered. "What?"


End file.
